Method of and structure for utilizing superheated liquid fuels



EAM-i253 Filed May 2l, 1920 SheeiS-Sheb l lfm wel@ 60M N. E. WALESMETHOD OFv AND STRUCTURE FOR UTILIZING SUPERHEATED LIQUID FUELS FiledMay 2l, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 7, R23. HAUQZSB N. B. WALES METHOD OFAND STRUCTURE FOR UTILIZING SUPERHEATED LIQUID FUELS Filed May 2l, 19204 Sheets-Sheet 3 In wel@ #wwf JL@ #a am QZ Ww 3mm,

Aug. 7, w23. A l 11,4@4253 N. B. WALES METHOD OF AND STRUCTURE FORUTILIZING SUPERHEATED LIQUID FUELS Filed May 2l, 1920' 4 Sheets-Sheet 4o @o Y() I sa" from ATHANYEID B. WLEES, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

METH @F All@ STRUCTURE EUR 'UTELXZJING SUPEREEATD LIQUJID FUELS.

Application nledmay al, 1920. serial Ito. 383,235.

To ozZl'wz/om it may) concern:

lBe it known that l, Narnnnmr. B. WALES,

a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in 'the county otNew York and State ot New York, have invented certain new and usefulllmprovements iuMethods of and Structure lor Utilizing SuperheatedLiquid Fuels, ot which the following 1s a specication.

This invention relates to a method of injecting and gasifying liquidhydrocarbons andutilizing the same in the cylinders ot internalcombustion engines.

The object of my invention is to convert l5 liquid lfuels into acombustible mixture when injected into air under pressure, by subjectinga small quantity of the liquid fuel to a degree of heat and pressuresuch that when released into an atmosphere of 2o lower pressure, theheat content of .the

liquid (which. exceeds that necessary lor evaporation) instantlyconverts said liquid into a dry as.

lin applying this principle to an internal l combustion engine l employa suitable small liquid fuel pump which places the liquid hydrocarbonunder a pressure of say 600 lbs. 'lhis liquid is then heated'while underpressure, at first on starting the motor it may be heated by anelectrical resistance element or suciently atomized vby its own staticpressure'during release, and during normal operation of the motor by theheat of the exhaustor by heat directly obtained the cylinder wall or anyother source. The liquid fuel, highly,r heated and under this highpressure, is now ready for use drop by drop into the cylinder of themotor, controlled by' a suitable valve -measuring mechanism whichdirectly releases it to i the clearance volume ol the cylinder when theiston is at the top of its. compression stro e. rlhe release of thepressure tension on the liquid hydrocarbon producesv an in l5 stantchange ofstate of the liquid to that of a dry gaswhich being injectedinto the air dilates due to its change of state caused by the tremendousexpansion of its internal heat content and roduces with the air amixture very exp osive or quick burning charge which upon being ignitedby an electric spark produces .high mean-effective pressures operatingat high thermalF emciencydue to the completeness of Vthe gaseous stateofthe combustiblqmixture therefrom, 'lhis .process of uel'iniection alsothe line 9-9 of F gen) content can be taken into a given sized motorcylinder because no fuel-vapor is mingled with or displaces the airduring the suction and compression strokes, thereby permitting themaximum heat content to be generated per cubic inch of displacement vofthe cylinder. i

ll have illustrated an embodiment of my invention in the accompanyingdrawings in which-Figure 1 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional viewof an internal combustion engine equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same, partly in section; Fig. 3 is a verticalsectional view of the pump; Fig. 4 is a sectional View on the line 4 4of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the pumpcylinder and control valves; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the same; Fig.7 is A,a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is afragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view of the valved preheatingplug in the upper part of the engine cylinder; and Fig. 9, is a verticalsectional View on For the purpose of explaining my invention, l haveillustrated a four cylinder four cycle engine. n v the initial downwardstroke of the piston 2, the valve 5 is opened for the admission of airthrough the port 6. 0n the upward stroke the air is compressed in theclearance volume or combustion chamber 8 and just prior to the downwardpower stroke the fuel is injected,..the resulting mixture being fired bythe spark at the plug 9. During the succeeding upward stroke the camshaft 10 lifts the valve 5 to permit the escape of the exhaust gases.

The liquid fuel is supplied to the preheater plug and maintained underpressure by a fuel pump.y f The framer casing 15 ofv the fuel injectionpump is boltedat 16 to' the frame of the engine. Thecross-head 17, to`which the pump` piston 18 is bolted, is guided in the frame 15 and isactuated by the eccentric 19 on the shaft 20, the ,latter being suitablygeared to the crank shaft. The fuel supply aan pipe 25, connected with asuitable source, connects with the inlet port 26 which is controlled bythe spring-pressed valve 27 carried by the nut plug 28. The fuel iscompressed in thepump barrel 30, by the descent of the plunger 18,forcing the valve 31 back against thepressure of lts spring, and paingthrough the channel 34 into the lower portion of the barrel 35, andthrough the tube 36 to the channel 38 of the heating plug 40.' Thespring-pressed valve 31 is carried in the bore of the hollow nut 32. Theupper portion of the barrel serves as an air cushion to minimize ordampenthe pulsations. A gauge 39 indicates the pressure in the system.When the pressure exceeds the predetermined maximum, ther valve 41yields and permits the excess to return to the inlet pipe through thebypass 43.

The inlet channel 38 of the Aheating plug 40, 'connects with an annularlaterally extending channel or chamber 45, surrounding a hollow coreportion 46, which forms a casing for the electric heating coil 48. Thechannel 45 communicates with a valve'chest through a port or passage 51at one side of the valve 52, the latter being carried by a pin 53projecting laterally from the end of a rod or stem 54, which extendsthrough a sleeve 56 in the lower part of the plug and bears upon a shorthollow stem 56 carrying at its lower end a roller 57 which rides uponthe tapered bearing collar 58 on the rotary shaft 60. When the rollerfalls into the recess or pocket in the collar 58, the stem 54 is in itslowermost position and as indicated in Figs. 1 and 8, the valve 52 is atthat instant in such position that the passage 62 registers with achannel or port 64 opening into the chamber or recess containing theheating coil 48. At all other times the roller 57 rides upon theperiphery of the collar 58 and raises the valve stem so that itmaintains the valve in a position tof close the port or passage 64. Theshaft which carries the tapered collars or cams 58 may be shiftedslightly longitudinally by vmeans of fa lever 65 connected to anoperating rod 67, for the purpose of varying or adjusting the amount or`degree of registration between the passa e 62 and the port 64,'t0thereby vary at wi l the amount of fuel charge injected into thecombustion chamber. 4

During the starting period the fuel is heated within the annular heatingchamber by means of the heatingcoil 48 the terminals 48 and 48b of whichare connected to a suitable source of electricity, such. as a storageybattery. After the engine is in operation the heat absorbed .by the.fuel by its passage through the chamber 45, which chamberis carefullyproportioned to have the necessary j heating surface to suplply theamount of lneers from the detailed description of t 'e structural parts.The liquid fuel is supplied by the fuel pump and maintainedJ underpressure in the annular heating chamber 45 where it is heated to atemperature approximating its critical temperature at laid pressure. Thefuel passes continuously from the chamber 45 through 4the channel 51into the valve chest 50. 4At the end of each compression stroketheroller 57 drops into `the recess in the cam collar 58 and therebycauses the valve 52 to move until its passage 62 registers more or lesswith the passage 64. t thisl instant a charge of preheated fuel underpressure is injected into the comressed air in the clearance volume orcomustion chamber 8. The pressure of the liq`- uid fuel being far higherthan said body of compressed a1r, and its heat content equaling its'latent heat it instantly expands into a dry gaseous state and combineswith the air to form an explosive gas mixture which upon being ignitedby the electric spark produces high mean-effective pressures in thecylinder.

As previously pointed out, this process of fuelinjection results in ahigh thermal eiiiciency due to the completeness of the aseous state ofthe combustible mixture. t also gives the'highest possible power output`from a givenv sized cylinder due to an explosive type of mixturecombined with high working compression. There is an entire labsence ofpre-ignition and the peculiar pre-ignition knocks which occur whencertain fuel mixtures are subjected to compression in the usual manner.These beneicial'characteristics will be appreciated by engineers.

A fuel gasifying systeml for internal combustion engines, comprising amember projecting into the clearance volume of the motor having acentral bore opening thereinto and a lheating chamber concentrictherewith arranged to preheat liquid fuel therein by the heat generatedwithin the -clearance volume, means for supplying liquid fuel underpressure, a valve-operating to inject measured quantities of said heatedfuel under pressure through said bore into the clearance volume, andmeans for actuating said valve synchronously with the engine crankshaft.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

NATHANIEL B. WALES.

